NSF’s first Innovation Corps awards announced

We first told you about the NSF Innovation Corps initiative when it was unveiled by NSF director, Subra Suresh, in late July. The NSF has delivered on its promise to make the first round of awards by the close of FY 2011.

The thrust of the initiative is to expedite the transition of research discoveries to economically viable products and processes by providing funding to help PIs assess the commercial readiness of their innovations and to provide support in the form of training and mentorships.

About the very short proposal/evaluation/award timeline, the NSF press release says the “award process was intense, yet swift,” with awards being made less than 30 days after proposals were submitted. The program will continue to make awards quarterly.

Commercialization of an Engineered Pyrolysis Blanket for the Economic Conversion of Forestry Residues to Soil Amendments and Energy Products Principal Investigator: Daniel Schwartz, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.